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Nonstop glamour and excess find a new poster girl in the 1980s when a hot young singer sees her chance to create her own brand. Madonna inspires countless girls across the globe to hit the nearest shopping mall to match her distinctive style. Young men with money to burn are buying into the young professional - or "yuppie" - lifestyle, and scooping up the latest expensive gadget: the cell phone. And, marketers learn an important lesson about the power of these new consumers in 1985 when Coca Cola's disastrous launch of New Coke threatens its position against Pepsi.

Take a rollercoaster ride through the decade that made us! The '80s is not about nostalgia; it is about a decade of people, decisions and inventions that changed our future, told from the perspective of unknowing history makers who lived these iconic moments. It was 10 years of nonstop glamour, unchecked excess, ruthless ambition and explosive technological innovation that combined to produce the historic changes and global events that made us who and what we are today. The fingerprints of the decade best known for Pac-Man and the personal computer are everywhere in our daily lives: The first launch of NASA's Space Shuttle triggered a technological explosion in global communications that now makes our world-wide love affair with smartphones and the Internet possible; when Madonna rolled around on stage in a wedding dress at a music awards show, it sent shock waves through a celebrity-hungry world that can't get enough of "Gangnam Style" and Lady Gaga today. Take an epic journey back in time with original interviews from music and film superstars as well as global titans of technology, business, media and politics, unforgettable archival footage and memorable moments that only the 80’s could provide.

Primary Title
  • The 80s: The Decade That Made Us
Episode Title
  • Shop til You Drop
Date Broadcast
  • Monday 27 May 2013
Start Time
  • 19 : 30
Finish Time
  • 20 : 30
Duration
  • 60:00
Episode
  • 3
Channel
  • National Geographic Channel
Broadcaster
  • Sky Network Television
Programme Description
  • Take a rollercoaster ride through the decade that made us! The '80s is not about nostalgia; it is about a decade of people, decisions and inventions that changed our future, told from the perspective of unknowing history makers who lived these iconic moments. It was 10 years of nonstop glamour, unchecked excess, ruthless ambition and explosive technological innovation that combined to produce the historic changes and global events that made us who and what we are today. The fingerprints of the decade best known for Pac-Man and the personal computer are everywhere in our daily lives: The first launch of NASA's Space Shuttle triggered a technological explosion in global communications that now makes our world-wide love affair with smartphones and the Internet possible; when Madonna rolled around on stage in a wedding dress at a music awards show, it sent shock waves through a celebrity-hungry world that can't get enough of "Gangnam Style" and Lady Gaga today. Take an epic journey back in time with original interviews from music and film superstars as well as global titans of technology, business, media and politics, unforgettable archival footage and memorable moments that only the 80’s could provide.
Episode Description
  • Nonstop glamour and excess find a new poster girl in the 1980s when a hot young singer sees her chance to create her own brand. Madonna inspires countless girls across the globe to hit the nearest shopping mall to match her distinctive style. Young men with money to burn are buying into the young professional - or "yuppie" - lifestyle, and scooping up the latest expensive gadget: the cell phone. And, marketers learn an important lesson about the power of these new consumers in 1985 when Coca Cola's disastrous launch of New Coke threatens its position against Pepsi.
Classification
  • PGR
Owning Collection
  • Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
  • Television
Languages
  • English
Captions
Live Broadcast
  • No
Rights Statement
  • Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Genres
  • Documentary
  • History
  • Miniseries
  • Voice-over
Contributors
  • Richard E. Grant (Narrator)
  • Nutopia Ltd (Production Unit)